How much will gas cost during the Christmas holiday?

Gas prices have taken a dive recently but some stations in Gaston County are slow to lower prices, especially with Christmas travelers now hitting the roads.

Wade Allen

Gas prices have taken a dive recently but some stations in Gaston County are slow to lower prices, especially with Christmas travelers now hitting the roads.

The cheapest gas in Gastonia sold for $3.12 per gallon on Friday at three stores – Citgo at 2829 S. York Road, Mikes at 2615 S. York Road and York Express at 2305 S. York Road, according to gasbuddy.com. The rest of the city’s stations were selling gas for between $3.15 to $3.32.

Gas is slightly less expensive at many pumps in Charlotte, selling for as low as $3.03 per gallon. Most stations in the Queen City sold gas for $3.09 to $3.15 per gallon on Friday.

Experts predict prices will increase slightly through the Christmas holiday. Friday’s average price for a gallon of gas in the Charlotte-Gastonia region was $3.21, up 2 cents from Thursday’s average.

A month ago, gas sold for an average of $3.30 per gallon.

More traffic

AAA of the Carolinas 11-day travel period begins today and stretches through Jan. 1, days when the most motorists are expected on roads.

Because gas prices have fallen so rapidly within the past couple of months, they’ll likely stabilize through the holiday but could go up a little bit, according to Angela Vogel Daley, public relations manager with AAA of the Carolinas.

“After the Christmas holiday, New Years holiday, in January we may see them continue to inch down a little bit,” she said. “Gas prices go up in the spring, as early as February. It’s hard to say in terms of how far they will fall. Right now we have cheap crude oil prices. They’re down from where they were this summer. We don’t have any issues with supply right now. All of that is contributing to lower gas prices.”

Crude oil sold for $88.66 per barrel late Friday, down $1.47 from the previous day’s session on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to CNN Money.

But the difference in price between pumps along I-85 from Charlotte to Gastonia could be a matter of competition and ultimately what customers are willing to pay.

“In terms of the difference between Charlotte and Gastonia, part of it could be distribution. The mountains usually have the most expensive gas in the state. It’s harder to get it up there,” Daley said. “In terms of Charlotte and Gastonia, I would expect it to be in more terms of competition. Gas stations set their prices.”

Stores in the area of South York Road in Gastonia, where the cheapest gas in the city was sold on Friday, compete with stations just across the state line in Clover, S.C. Combined local, state and federal gas taxes are 21 cents cheaper in South Carolina than in North Carolina, according to the American Petroleum Institute.